Love Game
by Chlorinda
Summary: Story originally titled: My Best Friend Kenneth. Have decided to change it because sometimes, it's not just all about one guy, right?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Diary of Lenore

I first met Kenneth when I moved into town. We were 15. And freshmen in high school. I have to maintain and insist on my stand that from the moment I set my eyes on him, I knew that I've found a good friend.

How did I know?

Well it might sound silly but I was walking behind him on the 1st day of school when I saw how he deliberately avoided crushing an ignorant snail crawling along right smack in the centre of the pavement.

I always admired individuals who have respect for living things, both big and small. Unfortunately I'm not disciplined enough to declare myself vegetarian. I'd have to admit that if vegetables tasted as good as meat products, I would not hesitate to become one.

About half a year down the road, I realized I was fooled by him. Recalling about this snail-avoiding incident, I asked him directly about it only to find out that it was honestly because he did not want to dirty his brand new shoes.

By then it was too late. We were destined to remain as fast friends having had all of our different classes packed in the same time slot. We were destined to remain stuck together, at least for the rest of the school term in Moontown.

Other than retirees, there were no true blue 'locals' in Moontown because no one stayed for long. Unless you considered Aunt Maggy, who prefers to be called without the 'Aunt' word in front, who owns the biggest supermarket in Moontown. But then again, if you owned the biggest supermarket in town and is currently making profits out of it, there was absolutely no reason for you to pack up and go.

Every year or so, there were bound to be a dozen new faces in town since Moontown was located reasonably near to a bustling city. I say reasonably because it wasn't exactly near or far. It still took an hour and a half to travel there and that was not an ideal situation if you had to travel to and fro every single work day.

Thus, families came and went.

There was Paul, Magdalene, Sam, Adele, Alice, Dexter… the names just goes on about friends who came and went.

The only constant in school for our batch was probably Kenneth and me, and thus we playfully declared ourselves the 'Seniors' of our batch. Not that there were any benefits. We were teenagers who could take care of ourselves, but no child wished to be away from their parents for such a long period of time.

Seeing them once a year and only during the Christmas season was dreadful and uncomfortable. You were happy to see them, but at the same time the relationship was awkward. As they say always say, time can make the heart grow fonder, yet they did not go on to talk about how it makes you feel distant from the other party as well.

But at least there was always Grandma and Grandpa around to diffuse the tension around the dining table at the right moment. It seemed like no matter how long Mum and Dad had been away because when they are back, they were always treated as kids when it came to Grandma and Grandpa. So much so that it sometimes makes me smile. I could still recall the time Grandpa actually gave Dad a thorough dressing-down just because he left the dirty cup in the living room. Dad's face was beetroot red from the scolding he received.

That said, just because it was Christmas doesn't mean I get to spend any time away from Kenneth.

Because his grandma makes the world's most kick-ass soup that I had to admit my own Grandmother's would have to be ranked second best. But it was not just because of the soup. This time, we had Zon.

Like us, Zon was destined to be stuck in Moontown, at least for the next year or so, which mean that the 3 of us were definitely going to graduate together.

Most importantly, all 3 of us lived along Dessling Street, which consisted of a row of 15 houses. It meant that we would walk to each other's house in pyjamas, even if it was 2pm in the day. And further down, at the entrance to Dessling Street was a guard house with an employee stationed 24 hours.

Not that Moontown was dangerous. But what with its geographical location came some ideas that were influenced by the city people.

Which brings me to the topic of lesbians. I always knew that people from the city were more complex. Or sophisticated, as Zon puts it, since she was raised in one. I was shocked when she confessed to us about how she wasn't very sure about her sexuality. Not at her honesty but at the fact that Zon, this lanky and attractive blonde may actually have a 'thing' for girls.

I wished she didn't confessed because thereafter whenever we went to each other's place to crash at one of our living rooms, my mind would always wander and I'd start thinking if the reason she hung out with me and Kenneth was because she wanted to know which 'way' does she swing towards.

But all that flew out the window when she started dating the captain of the football team. Thankfully, due to the proximity of our residences, there was no issue whenever we want to plan a catch-up session.

On the other hand, Kenneth had absolutely no doubts about which gender he prefers.

It was during one of these catch-up sessions that he admitted to us.

I could clearly recall it was at the end of the first day of school, in our senior year.

"Who is it?!" Zon squeaked out in a high-pitch tone while jumping in her seat excitedly as I made sure I was nowhere near her while trying my best to balance the 3 cups of hot chocolate.

It was my turn to host the sleepover tonight and having just returned from the kitchen, I had lost track of the conversation. Having ensured that the cups were not going to be kicked off the table by Zon, I breathed out a sigh of relief and sat down quickly to catch up.

Kenneth hesitated to answer her. It was obvious, the way that he was avoiding eye contact with either of us.

"Well?" Zon demanded again.

"Sophie." Kenneth said, quietly, as if fulfilling an obligation of saying the name, but yet wishing that we would not have heard it.

I knew who Sophie was. She was (another) new girl in one of my class. I was trying hard to recall which subject it was when Zon said, "That new girl?"

Kenneth nodded.

"What is it about her that you like? That eye-catching white trench coat jacket?" She asked, with her eyeball rolled upwards so that they seemed to be looking at the ceiling. It is very dramatic but that was Zon's way of recalling something.

"It kinda hurts to look at her." I recalled aloud. Not that I mean to be rude, but really, I could almost feel my eye pupils shrink when I happened to look at her general direction.

"So what about Sophie?" I asked, having not caught on yet.

"He LIKES her!" Zon exclaimed.

Now, other than the time he fell on his butt when we just got to know each other, I have never seen Kenneth so flustered and embarrassed before.

If he had anything else in his hand, I'm sure he would have tried to stuff it down Zon's throat to make her shut up. Fortunately, all that was within range was a mug of hot chocolate which he thrust towards her face a little forcefully.

I did not even have time to feel thankful that not a drip spilt onto Grandma's precious sofa.

In fact, I did not even know why was I feeling this way.

Sophie was definitely not the first girl Kenneth liked. There was always some girl at some point in time. But because this is Moontown, said girl always ends up leaving sooner or later.

In fact, being quite the looker himself, Kenneth has also received his fair share of attention from the opposite sex. The ones worth remembering are probably those that he got to go out on a few dates together. Not like there was much to do. In fact the longest girlfriend he had was for a record-breaking 8 months.

8 months was a long time to me, mind you. 8 months with no Kenneth bugging me. And when he was, it was usually because he could not figure her out. Come to think of it, I could not even recall her name. All I do remember of her was that she was a brunette.

So was Sophie.

I felt a slight wave of nausea hit me as it started to sink in that Kenneth had set his sights on some new girl.

I've always had this weird impression that I was the 'unofficial' girlfriend. Was it because he had been hardly dating anyone else for the past year, and that with Zon attached, we were spending more and more time alone together just like when we were back in freshmen year?

Just the other night before the end of the holidays, Kenneth and I had driven to Bloomsberg, the closest city to Moontown, just to look for Zon who was attending a party thrown in honour of Rick's buddy.

Zon had convinced us that we needed to attend at least one party in their high school life that wasn't held at Moontown.

Seeing no reason to object, we agreed. Kenneth sacrificed by abstaining from alcohol since he offered to be the driver for the trip home.

By the end of the night, Zon and Kenneth had to help me out of the pub. I was certainly not drunk. But I still remembered that somehow the floor below my feet was moving, causing me to sway from side to side.

Zon made up some lame excuse about having to go back in to retrieve some stuff when I knew she actually wanted to kiss Rick goodbye. Apparently, Kenneth told me the next day that I was actually shouting out my thoughts back then.

However, there was one definite thing I could remember about that night. That was when he held my hand.

No matter what drunken stupor I was in, I was immediately awakened when I felt his hand around mine.

His other free hand protectively reached out around my shoulders to guide me back towards the vehicle.

For the moment, I did not know whether to continue stumbling on and pretend to be in a daze, or should I just conduct myself in a more appropriate manner and politely decline his help.

Then I realized I could not care about dignity then. It felt too good to be held like that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Diary of Lenore

I can't help but remain quiet as Zon and an uncomfortable-looking Kenneth continued their chat.

Doesn't take a genius to know that liking your own best friend is taboo. But then again I wasn't all out to fall for Kenneth. It was just that I thought when he held my hand that night, that we did have something special going on. Was it just my imagination or does it signify the beginning of something.

There were times we hugged in each other in consolation of situations ranging from poor exam results to sad soppy movies that made me cry like a baby. But then those were trivial and not worth mentioning.

I was deep in thought and just when I settled on the conclusion that it must have been some sort of alcohol-related 'high', I was jabbed in ribs by Zon.

"Hey aren't you paying attention?" She asked, probably amused that I could be in deep thought when they were discussing something of high importance.

"I am!" I lied without batting an eyelid. "I was just thinking how long this one would last."

"Oh she would, alright. Girl's gonna stay stuck in Moontown until graduation for sure!" she said.

"Really?" Kenneth asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah. She has a twin brother in the team, and that's what he said." Zon remarked in that high and almighty voice of hers.

One of the good that came out of befriending Zon was that she wasn't exactly popular but she knew whatever that was going on due to her high 'authority' of being Mrs. Captain of the soccer team.

I had to admit, as Zon's good friend who was genuinely concerned for her, I was wary at first of her relationship with Rick. It wasn't easy but Zon had held her head well. She did not let the unnecessary attention lavished on Rick come between them. Not once. Not ever. Easy for her I guess, for she was a good-looker herself, especially if she bothered to put in a little more effort, she would have suited the description of 'dropdead gorgeous' extremely well.

Though I could recall that there was once they actually argued over her lack of jealousy especially when he was swarmed ever so often by cheerleaders during games. But that was during the beginning of their relationship and apparently from the way Zon had never mentioned about it again, I knew they had gotten over that incident as well.

"You don't happen to like Sean, do you?" She asked with a sly and questioning look on her face as she leaned nearer to confront me.

I was taken aback. "Of course not!... Wait. Who's Sean anyway?"

"Sophie's brother." She said softly.

"Look, I get along splendidly with Kenneth, but this doesn't mean that I would like someone who looks like whoever he likes." I replied, at the same time recalling that this other guy always hanging around Miss White Trench Coat at school.

They were both brunettes. No wonder they looked disturbingly alike. I should have guessed that they were twins.

I hadn't noticed that Kenneth and Zon had fallen oddly quiet. And by the time I noticed, I caught Zon mouthing to Kenneth "Yup, she thinks he's hot!"

"No I don't!" I insisted. "Cute, alright. But not to the extent of being labeled as hot!"

"Okay, then I'm right anyway, to some extent." She declared, satisfied.

"Whatever!" I whispered back, but made sure it was loud enough for her to hear it too, while Zon responded with a snot. Kenneth could only smile sheepishly.

"So what's the plan?" Zon turned back her attention to him. "What's our old guy here gonna do about his new love interest?" She probed.

"Nothing?" He replied.

"What? You mean you're just going to hang around at wherever Sophie is going and pray that she will acknowledge your presence and one day make a move on you?" Zon remarked in a surprised manner.

I tried to defend Kenneth. "My dear girl, not everyone is as gutsy as you when it comes to making new friends!"

"No wonder you two are still unattached!" Zon threw her hands in the air as she said that.

"Ow." Kenneth and I both said at the same time.

She quickly realized her mistake. "Alright I apologise for my insensitivity. There's no need for me to put it like that."

"Anyway, you two are ladies. What do you suggest I do?" Kenneth looked at us expectantly.

"Don't look at me. I'm not attached right now." I reiterated while Zon cast a watchful eye on me to see if I was still sore about her previous comment. I waved her off nonchalantly.

"Why not let Miss Socialite here give you some advise? I'm going to ride my bike or something to see if the air in the tyres are still holding." Now I absolutely hoped that they did not see through my very lame reason to get away.

I felt a weird sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I had foolishly thought that Kenneth and I had a 'thing' for each other but now it turned out that it was a one-sided affair after all. And before I even had time to recover from it, I was eagerly drawn into a discussion about how he should make his first moves on the girl he REALLY likes.

But thankfully the topic was too interesting for them to realize my poor excuse. Or maybe it was true that I used to like my bicycle a lot. It was a simple mechanism on two-wheels that served its duty purposefully: to get me to wherever I want at however fast (or slow) pace I wish.

I thought that I'd drop in at the nearby 24-hour convenience store to top up on the milk that was running out at home. I'm a milk-addict. A cup of it in the late evenings helps me sleep better at night.

It was a great night to ride a bike. Actually it would have been better to walk there instead because it would take a longer time, which means by the time I return they would have hopefully finished their discussion already.

As I slowly cycled past the guard post, I heard someone call my name.

Naturally I stopped and looked in wonderment because I never remembered nor recognized any of the security guards.

It turned out to be one of the guys in class called Mike.

My first thought was that this guy actually knew my name! This was because whenever I noticed him, which was a rather rare occurrence, the guy was always in deep slumber, sprawled across the classroom desk.

"Hey, Mike. What are you doing here?" I asked, rather surprised to see him. I was quite certain he didn't live around the area, much less Dessling Street.

He signaled to his dressing and it was then that I noticed that he was wearing the usual blue uniform that the security guards were always dressed in.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, stupidly. Somewhere along the bike ride from my house to the post, images of Kenneth and Sophie must have filled my head up so much so that my brain was pretty impaired.

Mike moved to Moontown probably half a year ago yet this was only the first time we were talking to each other. And now, I was pretty sure that the guy must think that I have a really low intellect.

"I work here, Lenore." He said.

"Right. I can see that." I replied quickly, already feeling the blood rush to my cheeks. "I was just thinking about something else so I'm kinda slow when it comes to connecting the dots right now."

"I can see that." He smiled back. "Your eyes had that faraway look. Luckily you're riding a bicycle and not driving a car, otherwise you would have knocked me down if I tried to call out to you."

I laughed at his statement, with my brain finally feeling a little more cleared up and my mood immeasurably better.

He continued smiling, probably glad that I had understood his joke. Hey, maybe he would not think that I'm an idiot after all.

"I'm going down to the convenience store. Need anything?" I asked, not out of politeness but more of trying to thank him for lifting up my spirits.

He shook his head and pointed to his back. I tilted my head and looked behind him, realizing that he already had a cup of steaming hot coffee on the desk, with one of our textbooks open.

"Hey, it's only the first day of school! Are you already halfway through it?" I asked in shock.

"Well, no harm. It helps to keep me awake when I'm on night duty." He shrugged as he replied me.

"You are so kidding me! Going through our school books is one of the ways to put me to sleep, not keep me awake!" I exclaimed, and then it was his turn to laugh at me.

Mike was really interesting because not only was he asleep in class all the time, he was also the elite few with good grades.

"Alright then, I shall not bother you further. See you around!" I said, as I rang my bell for effect and then started pedaling away to the nearby store.

As I rode up to posts to park my bicycle, I saw that there was another one parked there already. Not taking much notice, I pushed the heavy doors and squinted my eyes for awhile as the brightly lit store interior blinded me temporarily.

The trademark sound made by the sensor announced my arrival to everyone in the store.

Well, more like 2 persons since there was only the cashier who had his headphones on with the music blaring away. And the other person was…

I smiled at him as I walked past him along one of the aisle. He nodded his head at me in acknowledgement as we minded our own business and continued our shopping.

Whatever traces of joy from my little encounter with Mike was gone. Sean removed every last bit of it because seeing him reminded me of his pretty twin sister and then Kenneth magically appeared in my mind again.

Which made my mind wander back to whether the both of them had finished their discussion and finally started to wonder why on earth did I take such a long time to check the air in my bicycle.

Obviously they hadn't realized anything because I haven't received multiple calls on my mobile yet.

That's what friends are for.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Diary of Lenore

"Hey!" Sean called out to me as I had hurriedly turned around and was making my way out. I made a face and then resumed a normal expression before turning around to look at him.

"Hi." I greeted back, with my tone sounding more monotonous than I wanted it to. He seemed slightly taken aback by my unfriendly tone but then went on to say "I saw you around school. I'm Sean, Sophie's twin brother." He put out his hand.

I shook his hand "Lenore. No siblings. Though you could count Zon or Kenneth as my non-blood relative."

I spotted some form of recognition when I mentioned Zon's name. I was right. No one could forget Zon that easily especially when they had met her only recently.

"Ah. Zon. Rick's girl." He nodded his head slowly as I'm sure the image of the pretty blonde materialized in his mind. He added "But I haven't really got to know who Kenneth is."

"You'd get to know him soon." I said, though in my heart wished it wasn't the case. He looked at me questioningly so I quickly added "I mean, Sophie and you are still quite new in Moontown right? You'd get to know more people really soon."

"I see."

I decided that there was not much to speak to this new 'friend' especially when we're at the entrance of a convenience store in the middle of the night, moreover there was school tomorrow. "I guess I'd see you around then, like, maybe tomorrow at school?" I said, trying to end the encounter.

"Sure!" He said cheerfully. I have to admit, he was rather attractive when he smiled. His twin sister was already good-looking enough for Kenneth to like her at first sight, how far could her twin brother be, right?

I rode off and the last I looked, he was still trying to hang the bag of stuff he bought onto the handlebars of his expensive-looking mountain bike.

_What a night_, I thought, as I neared the guard post and put a hand into the bag to retrieve the spicy potato chips that I bought for Mike.

When I got back, the pair was still talking. At least it wasn't all about Sophie right now. It was further traced to the past where Kenneth was actually talking about his exes. I decided not to tell them who I met at the convenience store in order not to reignite the subject of Sophie.

It doesn't take a genius to guess why Zon never bragged about her relationship ventures because she doesn't have any history to brag about. Rick was the one and only in her life. But to give her some credit, he was a mighty fine catch who did not fall into the general stereotypes of team captains with a flamboyant history of romances and flings.

Nor was he the insecure jumpy sort.

Come to think of it, Rick was almost like the male equivalent of Zon.

I could clearly recall that during the previous school term, Kenneth and I were waiting for Zon right near the gate of the school as everyone had ended their lessons and were trailing out.

Out came Zon in a rush, since she was always the last few to leave the classroom due to her very elaborate (read: SLOW) packing methods of ensuring that every single item in her bag was placed properly.

On her way towards us, something bad happened; she tripped.

The good thing was, she tripped when she was really close to us. Kenneth and I witnessed everything happen as if in slow-motion. It was so ridiculously funny that even up till now we would laugh about it at the expense of pissing off Zon. We could clearly recall step by step of how Zon's mouth fell open like a goldfish, and then her eyes widened in terror and shock. It was the sound emitted from her that made it all the more hilarious because it sounded like a "Whoaaaaaaaa" that greatly resembled a fire engine.

But at that point in time when it was happening, we hadn't found it funny at all. Instinctively, Kenneth reached out for her when all I could do was to clap my hands over my mouth to prevent a scream.

Thankfully, Kenneth caught her right in his arms.

It was a pathetic sight because he managed to catch her right before she landed on the floor by hooking his arms under her armpits.

"You okay?!" Kenneth said, but I could hear from his tone that he was trying to suppress his laughter. Now, I wasn't so disciplined when it comes to laughter. I had burst out laughing maniacally already.

He moved his arms to her waist to straighten her properly as she tried to regain her balance on her two feet.

Just at that instant, Rick walked towards us. I could see a fleeting look of worry flash past Kenneth's face because the position that he and Zon were caught in did not look good. It looked like they were in an embrace.

There was absolutely no hint of doubt or anger in his tone when Rick asked "Wow. What happened here?"

I spoke about it to Zon before and she explained that it was probably because of the way I was laughing that Rick never mistook their 'hug' for something else.

In fact, I had laughed even harder when Rick came up, which wasn't really something a good friend ought to be doing when your tall and well-built boyfriend catches you enveloped in the arms of another guy. But the absurdity of the situation was just too much to comprehend.

Even when Zon and Rick walked off together leaving me and a very sheepish-looking Kenneth behind, I was still in stitches.

But I did get my punishment though. I had really severe aches for the next few days after that from laughing too hard.

We spoke awhile longer after my return from the store. Well, actually, they spoke. I had been conveniently left out of the discussion due to my very obvious disinterest to the topic of relationships.

I had input regarding the matter, and nothing to recall, no important lessons learnt or embarrassing situations to share. Yes, a lot of people are in love all the time but there was never one in love with me.

The next thing I knew was that I had somehow drifted off to sleep and that I heard Kenneth trying to wake me up in my bedroom.

"Time for school." Kenneth nudged me gently.

I was too used to having him be the one to wake me up that I didn't freak out in bed or anything.

I said, without bothering to open my eyes "Zon?" Actually I was hoping that he would then proceed to go over to Zon and try to wake her up while I can grab a few more winks.

"She's already left. Rick came to pick her bright and early cos they're going to breakfast. The lovebirds." He shook his head at the last sentence.

I sat up in bed, still not willing to throw my blankets off and get up. Halfway through a yawn, I muttered something that Kenneth could interpret as a compliment as to how sweet Rick and Zon are despite having been together for such a long time.

I was certain that Kenneth did not catch what I was saying exactly, but he roughly knew what I was getting at.

"Well if my partner was Sophie, I bet I wouldn't mind going out of the way to be so sweet to her." He said dreamily.

Now I was well and truly awake, but more than ever, I felt like going back to bed to sulk the day away.

I plopped back in bed and covered myself with the blanket again but Kenneth would have none of it.

He sat beside me and pulled away the blanket. He leaned down until his face was a few inches away from mine. I could barely breathe. He whispered "Get up already, Lenore. It's only the second day of school. Besides, you may find your Prince today!"

Now it was impossible to continue staying in bed like that when my adrenaline was pumping through my entire body. Kenneth got up, telling me that he would wait for me outside while I get ready. I was extremely thankful of it because I wouldn't want him to notice how red my face had turned.

I put one of my palms to my cheek. The heat was radiating off my face in waves.

I wished that my bedroom was not on the 2nd floor so that maybe I could climb out the window and run a few rounds around the house.

I then groped around my bedside table, trying to find where my glasses were since I do not even recall falling asleep in my bedroom. There was a knock and Kenneth returned, handing back to me my frameless glasses.

"You're getting it done soon, right?" He asked.

I nodded, well aware that he was referring to my intention of undergoing lasik surgery to correct my vision, something that I had procrastinated since forever.

At the beginning, my excuse was about the costs involved. But when I realized that every single cent I earned was not spent (for what else was there to buy in Moontown?), I realized that my excuse would have to change soon for now I had enough for more than one surgery. Luckily, I only had a pair of eyes, and not ten.

What scared me more than ever was the fact that I had to undergo the surgery fully conscious.

On the way to school, we inadvertently found ourselves walking behind two familiar figures. And the sight of one of them made Kenneth walk in a really weird manner. He would speed up and slow down and weird intervals, totally ignoring my walking speed.

Feeling hurt, I pretended not to notice. But how could I, when it was so obvious how he would be 10 steps in front of me and then 5 steps behind awhile later?

Since I was already feeling in the dumps and have decided that it cannot get any worser, I decided to just help Kenneth out abit, on account of our friendship. Yes, our friendship was worth my feelings, and pride.

I decided to call out to Sean as if he was an old friend.

"Hey, Sean!" I called out at the figure beside Sophie, who was thankfully not wearing that blinding shade of white today. It felt so fake that if I could turn back time, I wished I hadn't called out to him at all.

I could feel that Kenneth was momentarily stunned by my friendliness with the new kids in town but I ignored him for all it was worth. Explanations could come later.

Sean turned around, recognized me, and smiled.

Now I'm pretty sure that he is a good looking lad, smiling or not. It seemed clearer now that we were in broad daylight.

The typical formalities were exchanged. I did what most people could not; I actually introduced my crush to his crush. Well, staying in Moontown, I think that this is as complex as it could get.

Sophie and Kenneth were more englightened when Sean explained how we had met at the store the night before.

Very soon, we parted ways as we had to split up to go to our different classes.

Kenneth and I walked towards the direction where the lab was located.

"You didn't say anything about meeting him last night." He said. It was a statement. Not a question. But it hung between us, waiting for my explanation to set it right.

"I didn't think it was worth mentioning." I brushed it off.

He gave a snort like he was mildly upset. I stopped walking and turned around to look at him. "What?" I asked.

"You didn't think it was worth mentioning?" He asked in an accusing tone.

"Look, if me not mentioning anything to you about meeting your crush's twin brother at the store is anything worth getting upset about, then I'm sorry and let's just face it, okay?" It was only the 2nd day of school and I had no intention to start a quarrel with my best friend, as much as I romantically like him.

He didn't answer, so I assumed he was really angry too.

When Kenneth and I quarreled, which was quite often though mostly over mundane things, it wasn't about who had the last word in the argument. We tend to fall silent when we were angry with each other. Zon, on the other hand, would tend to scream her head off if she strongly disagreed or if anything or anyone was seriously upsetting her.

And this was where Zon stepped in.

She suddenly appeared between Kenneth and I with each arm wrapped around one of our necks.

"What's up with my two best friends in the world!" She said in a cheerful voice, totally unaware of what had just happened between us.

I guess it was obvious to her that something was not right when both of us did not reply her at all.

"What? What's wrong?" She asked. But her questions went unanswered.

I quickened my pace and entered the lab.

Instead of sitting at my usual table that was between Kenneth and Zon, I decided to sit at another chair which I know was empty.

Our batch had the smallest number of students enrolled, so the lab was actually only three-quarters filled. There were more than enough empty seats for me to pick.

And this particular seat I took was strategically chosen; it was right beside Mike's.

As usual, Graham was late. But no student ever complained about the teacher being late. It meant that we had more time to horse around. But Graham wasn't the only one late. So was Mike.

It was about 5 minutes later when Mike finally stumbled in through the door.

He walked up to the desk beside me and looked quite surprised. I could only manage a feeble smile in response to his shocked look.

"How's it going?" He asked, as he sat down and unpacked some books.

"Good, considering we had last seen each other less than 10 hours ago." I said, without bothering to turn my head and look at him.

He leaned over and whispered very softly. "You're not sitting here because you want me to pay you back for that packet of chips last night, do you?" He asked.

I smiled for the first time that day. "If you want to, I wouldn't mind it one bit." I answered.

He studied my face for awhile to see if I was serious, and then smiled. At this point, I actually found myself admiring his features, which was actually weird. I never used to observe guys like this before.

Kenneth was different. He demanded me to closely scrutinize his face so that I could give him a sort of advance warning if there was a potential site that a pimple was about to erupt. The fact that Kenneth was rather cute did make my job easier. The idiot was blessed with great complexion to begin with. It was only ever so rarely that stress levels (usually associated with upcoming examinations) forces the appearance of a very small and insignificant zit.

I was starting to suspect that maybe as a person ages, their habits change and so do their standards. I was beginning to notice that there were actually quite a few lookers in Moontown. And with it being our senior year, it would also mean that these guys are most probably staying through till graduation.

I couldn't help but steal a couple of peaks at Mike throughout the class. Either he had a good night's sleep last night (which I highly doubt since he said he was on night shift), or he had just had a high dose of concentrated caffeine.

Not once did he fall asleep in class. In fact, he was so attentive that I just had to ask him halfway through the lesson.

I leaned over to him while he instinctively tilted his head to catch my whisper, "Aren't you going to sleep yet?"

He shook his head and smiled with his eyes trained on Graham. Then he said "I feel like my superior is sitting next to me and it's affecting my ability to feel sleepy."

I tried not to smile but it was hard. My lips quivered slightly. I looked back up again and saw Zon shooting a you-better-have-an-explanation-for-this look at me.

"You have duty tonight?" I asked Mike.

He shook his head. "Why'd you ask? You thinking of asking me out?"

I was taken aback by his brazen attitude. "You wish!" I said, realizing that I was smiling like an idiot throughout the exchange that Graham seemed to have noticed and was looking at us very frequently trying to catch us red-handed chatting in his class.

"Well, I am!" Mike said. I stared at him in disbelief as he stared back at me. This guy must not be serious, was he?

"Lenore and Mike! I would appreciate if you could take your little chats outside of my class." Graham sounded quite pleased with himself for his little observation.


	4. Chapter 4

That night Mike and I did meet. It was difficult though, because Zon was threatening to make me confess to everything that was going on behind her back when honestly there was nothing. I told her so but she wouldn't believe me.

I spent a hell of a time trying to keep her away from my place which was a really difficult task especially with her living so close by.

Kenneth had faded into oblivion for the rest of the day. I'm sure it had something to do with Sophie and Sean because I saw them eating lunch at the cafeteria while Zon was busy bombarding me with questions.

Sean had very nicely asked us to join them for lunch but Zon declined saying that we had some girl talk to do.

"What talk?" I asked her. She stared daggers at me.

"Well then, I think we'd eat together another day." Sean said, as he took a few steps backwards. I would have done the same if I were him. After all no one messes with the captain's girl.

He then walked off with Kenneth in tow, towards Sophie who was already waiting for them at a table.

I told Zon everything that had happened the previous night and she was delighted at my sudden luck involving the opposite sex though sadly, nothing came out of it.

"It's a good start!" She exclaimed, and patted my back in encouragement.

I agreed with her heartily. Maybe it was time to widen my severely limited social circle by that little bit. Time to see what other guys are like instead of limiting myself to Kenneth and a few other guy buddies who had stuck around in Moontown long enough.

I took my mobile out and sent a message to Mike, who had disappeared after class, but not before asking if we were really going to meet at night.

I had finished typing the text message to Mike, confirming the meeting that night and had just pressed the sent button when the bell rang, signaling the end of tea break.

I always loved the sound of crickets chirping in the dead of the night. Grandpa always say that its horribly dangerous for a girl to go out at night but it was Dessling Street after all… we have our very own security guard on duty for crying out loud!

And for this particular night, the guard on duty was not Mike.

I felt abit bad for making him come all the way back to his workplace despite it being his night off.

He met me at the door and we decided to walk to a nearby playground that was shared by the residents of Dessling Street.

"I'm sorry to make you come here though you're not even supposed to be at work." I said, as I took a seat on one of the swings.

"Well, I never thought it this way." He said, as he stood behind and gave me a gentle push to set the swing going.

It was 2 hours later when he walked me home.

We had a nice chat under the moonlight at the dimly lit playground. He told me about how he was trying to lessen his family's financial burden by working a part-time job so that he doesn't need to live off an allowance from his parents though they didn't really need him to do so.

And I told him how I thought he was from some well-to-do and influential family which explained why none of the teachers ever kicked up a racket when he fell asleep right in front of them.

"There were a couple of times I swear I saw you drooling." I chided.

"Yea, it happens I guess." He admitted while scratching the back of his head absentmindedly. "I did wake up a few times only to realise that I had drooled all over the open page of the textbook."

I laughed out loudly and then quickly shut up again when I realized how the sound seemed to bounce off the walls of the houses especially when the night was so quiet.

After that whenever we spoke about something funny, we could only control and giggle at most.

As we reached the last of the steps leading to the front door, I turned around and looked down at him since I was on a higher step of the stairs.

"I enjoyed myself tonight. Thank you." I said to him.

"I'm glad you did." Mike said.

I waited for him to turn around and go home but he stayed where he was. It was an ordinary buddy outing to me but I recalled how he actually described this as a 'date' when we were in the lab, back at school.

If this was a date then he would have been expecting something, I reasoned to myself.

I bent down and slowly moved my face close to his. I could sense the way he took a deep breath and then closed his eyes.

I moved my lips closer to his ear instead. It was weird how my own heart was pounding though I was not going to do anything to him. Being this close, I could actually smell his cologne that he bothered to apply.

Would it be bad of me if I hadn't grant him even a kiss?

And then I remembered Zon's warning that no one gives a kiss away so easily, especially on a first date. I didn't even want to think the unthinkable; that grandma or grandpa would open the door just as I planted a smooch on his cheek.

At the very last second, I changed my intention. I made sure that my lips were very close to his ears, and then I whispered "Remember, you still owe me a packet of chips."

I didn't wait to see his reaction, and even before he opened his eyes, I had already rushed through the door and had closed it behind me.

He never knew but I was actually still there, leaning against the door with heart pounding loudly that I was quite worried if he would be able to hear it from the outside.

So there goes, my first 'date', at least one that Zon and Kenneth both knows of, on the 2nd day of Senior year.

Fast forward and it is now the first weekend of the school year, and Friday night was yet another night out with Rick. For Zon, that is.

Sure we all love Fridays, but the first Friday of the school week was without a doubt the most boring one of the year.

Kenneth and I found ourselves sitting at the back porch of my grandparents' house amidst the seemingly deafening sounds of crickets, with absolutely nothing to do.

To make matters worst, we had even finished our homework. And it was only a Friday night. But in the midst of all that boredom, I was actually enjoying myself as I've always did with Kenneth. I think that the best part was how we felt so comfortable with each other that there was really no need to be talking all the time, although we did talk quite a lot too.

When we were young, we were on the phone together so often that my grandma would always chase me out of the house so that I would just walk over to the next house to look for Kenneth instead of hogging on the phone line all the time.

"I am so going to make it up next Friday." Kenneth said.

I did not reply because I could not think of anything to say. But my stomach did. It rumbled, asking to be pampered with a late night snack.

"I am so going to ask Sophie out by next week." He added, and then he turned to look at me.

"What?" I looked back at him. I didn't really look that evil glint in his eyes at that moment.

"You've got to help me, Lenore." He begged in a robotic voice, probably caused by the feeling of lazing around and not having anything to do.

"Me? I have much better luck asking Sean out than asking his sister!" I said, while turning back to stare into the dark.

"That's my point!" He admitted. "That's where you come in!"

"Thanks bro. I feel so used." I pretended to sound hurt. But I really was.

Kenneth got up and went into the house, returning with a can of Coke and a bar of chocolate. Sinful, but that was probably the only thing he could come up with at such short notice.

Within a year of knowing Kenneth, he was banned from cooking anything in the kitchen, especially mine. Nope, he was not even allowed to make a hard-boiled egg.

It wasn't exactly all his fault though, because other than his hazardous (and highly flammable) cooking exploits, the first (and very last) hard-boiled egg he had ever done happened to be a rotten one where the yolk had already turned a weird dark colour.

I was chomping delightfully on the chocolate when he just had to spoil my appetite by saying "So it's a deal right? Cadbury and Coke for a double date?"

I swallowed whatever remained of the chocolate that I was chewing on.

It stuck to my throat and irritated me very much, so I washed it down totally with an even bigger gulp of Coke.

It only resulted in a coughing fit at which Kenneth had to soothe and pat my back while I struggled with the irritated throat and very blurry vision brought on by the tears that welled up in my eyes.

I wanted to laugh and cry at the absurdity of the situation. I didn't exactly know which were the tears that were brought about by me being upset, and which was really caused by the choking.

"You okay?" he asked, looking very worried.

I was glad he did show some concern for me after all because I was all prepared to puke out the Cadbury and Coke over him if he dared to suggest the double date again.

I removed my glasses to wipe away the tears that had somehow stained the lenses. Kenneth had never stopped patting my back throughout it all, even though I had stopped coughing already.

Tired out, I let out a sigh, and I felt Kenneth's hand reaching out to my cheek. He put his palms to my jaw and gently nudged it down towards him until my head was on his shoulder, and then the same hand went back to continue rubbing my back.

For effect, I coughed a few more times.

It felt good. I didn't mind choking again if he was there to do this everytime.

We must have stayed like this for a really long time. His hand moved from my back to stroking my head. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard him call my name so softly, I would have almost missed it what with the chirping of the crickets being so loud.

"Hmm?" I mumbled, my head absolutely refused to budge since I'd rather talk to him with my head still on his shoulder.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to." He said.

It took me all my self-discipline to not raise a hand to give Kenneth a resounding smack.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"No. Let's do it!" I lifted my head up from his shoulder and adjusted myself so that no part of our bodies was in contact anymore.

He looked at me to make sure that I was serious.

"You like Sophie, and I need to broaden my horizon. Let's do it!" I said, and got up to my feet.

"Where are you going?" he asked as I started walking off into the house.

"To call Sean. I mean, if we want to, why not now?" I asked. I didn't want for his response. I was pulling out my mobile phone from the pocket of my jeans. I didn't want Kenneth seeing the tears that were threatening to fall.

It was indeed a very awkward situation, but there we were, a whole 20 minutes later in a car, parked right outside the house of Sophie and Sean who were game enough to agree to this very last minute outing.

Actually, I had a feeling that they were just as bored as us on a Friday night. The difference was we had stuck around too long and thus the boredom; they were too new in town and hadn't ventured out yet, thus were bored.

"You wouldn't think that they'd bother to dress up, do you?" I asked while looking at the direction of the house.

The lights were on but the curtains were all drawn so I could not get a good look at the interior nor notice any movement from within.

"Even a newbie wouldn't." Kenneth said.

We were in normal home wear, the kind that would allow us to jump straight into bed and fall asleep if we really wanted to.

When the siblings came out, I breathed a sigh of relief. It wouldn't be us feeling under-dressed and awkward. They would be the ones who were over-dressed and make our group stick out like a sore thumb.

Thankfully, Sophie and Sean stepped out wearing khakis and their faded shirts looked like it had been machine-washed a few hundred times. But then again, there were plenty of shops that sell clothes like that, and at ridiculous prices too.

I couldn't determine which was worst. The fact that shops bothered to sell such clothings, or the fact that people were willing to pay a high price for old-looking clothes.

"Zon's not here?" Sophie asked casually as she entered the vehicle.

"Romantic night out. Friends are secondary." I explained and she gave a smile that showed me she understood how we were being second-placed that night. I decided that this girl was rather likeable. Maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't mind giving up Kenneth to her after all.

Sean got in after her and they both settled down comfortably in the back, giving a friendly punch to Kenneth's arm while Kenneth turned around and nodded at the friendly gesture.

Off we went. Our double-date, as Kenneth put it.

The local diner's was rather empty that night, but we weren't surprised. Most of the kids our age would rather drive that few hour ride down to Bloomsberg and get hammered. The practice was to check into a hotel and then ride back the following day.

We tried that once. Zon swore never to do so again. At least not with us. Being totally intoxicated was not a good way to recall how your wallet and mobile phone got stolen. While Kenneth and I were still recovering from our massive hangover, Zon had nagged and nagged about us not being responsible enough to stay alert and conscious to our surroundings.

The naggings resumed as the bill was presented to us by the hotel for our overnight stay because naturally, she had to foot the bill as Kenneth and I had lost our wallets and were looking more than dreadful.

Did I mention that she also had to be the one who drove all the way back to Moontown while Kenneth and I whined throughout the car ride about how our head was going to crack open?

I don't blame Zon, really. I knew how badly I was behaving but because I was feeling so down in the dumps, I really couldn't help but whine like some spoilt and pampered brat. Same goes for Kenneth.

So on the pretext of showing them around town, we brought them to Uncle Lago's Diner, a quaint little place that was probably the only diner's to gather round for meals when everyone in the house is too lazy to be bothered to prepare some meals.

Uncle Lago's is a family-themed café with a mixture of everything from the typical menu to more Asian-inspired dishes.

The family-oriented place was also conveniently located right beside an arcade, aptly named Phun. I always suspected that there was some sort of Myanmar / Vietnamese origin to it.

We took a seat by the window where we could see the traffic passing by. It was also a good way to point out to them who's who in Moontown, provided if anyone walked past the area.

I sat with Sean while Kenneth shared a seat beside Sophie. Being more of a supper-like outing, we shared a chat over fries and Coke, and learnt that Sophie and Sean were much luckier than the rest of us since they stayed with their parents.

I was impressed to learn of how closely-knit their family was and how the rest of their extended family were considering moving from Bloomsberg to Moontown as well just to remain geographically close, especially since their father had just returned from an overseas posting in Malaysia for the past 2 years.

I typed a text on my mobile phone under the table and sent it to Kenneth. It read: Well, if you and Sophie didn't work out, you always have her cousins around.

After seeing him read my message, I purposely refused to make any eye contact with him though I received a very well-deserved kick from under the table.

Sean was really sweet and attentive. I genuinely wondered if he had a girlfriend but decided not to broach the sensitive subject since they were just 'uprooted' and moved here.

I would imagine that it would be probably Armageddon before Zon would actually leave Rick's side.

I think she might even figure out ways to continue staying on even if her family had to move.

Sean made sure that I had enough ketchup or chilli. He even poured both into those disposable little holders and placed it conveniently within my reach. I noticed Kenneth desperately trying to do the same for Sophie but sadly her twin brother beat him to it.

Kenneth had to mumble a thank-you to Sean instead when the latter passed him the sauce.

Kenneth was the one who foot the bill since we were the ones who initiated the outing. Moreover, it was our way of welcoming Sophie and Sean into little Moontown. Of course, we added a "Hope you don't get bored too soon" warning.

Just as we were about to leave the place, I gave a little scream.

The arcade game centre was a place we frequented often due to its ability to waste time away without knowing it. But of course, it was an expensive place to be at.

One of the attractions that I never fail to notice was the one where you put a few coins in and then get to control this robotic arm to grab the soft toy you want.

I was a great fan of that, especially if the toy was cute.

But this time it was more than just cute.

It was a Miffy bunny, a cartoon character that I was absolutely in love with while most of the people I know who were even remotely interested in cartoon characters preferred Hello Kitty.

It was a shriek of delight that I could not control.

"Oh no…" I heard Kenneth say. Too late, my legs were already carrying me towards the machine.

It wasn't just Miffy. It was a HUGE Miffy soft toy. I this close to drooling over the machine.

Sophie came and stood beside me. "You want one?" She asked, staring at the soft toys placed inside it.

"You bet. Even if I had to clear out my entire wallet!" I said without taking my eyes off my ultimate goal, A huge Miffy toy wearing a floral-printed dress that was placed right in the middle among all the others.

"You know, Sean is really good at this." Sophie said.

"Can anyone actually be good at this?" I asked, incredulous. I must have tried at least close to 50 times everytime I saw a toy I liked, and that was enough for me to know that the amount of times you tried never ever guarantee that you would get to go home with anything except a significantly lighter wallet.

I heard the machine play that familiar noise whenever you inserted coins into it. That familiar series of beeping tone that plays out whenever money was slid into the coin compartment.

It was Kenneth.

I was pleasantly surprised because although Kenneth had never condoned my weird addiction to the 'toy-grabber' machine as we nicknamed it, he had never ever helped me before.

Okay, maybe he did, but only when he was in a good mood.

I looked at Sophie who was standing beside me and looking eagerly at the soft toys to evaluate which was worth giving a try for.

No wonder he was in a good mood.

And then the robotic arm gave a jerk to signal that you are now in control.

For that few seconds, I did not know which should I look at, the robotic arm that was slowly moving to the targeted toy that was lying precariously near the edge of the chute, or at Kenneth's good-looking face that was filled with intense concentration.

I had almost fainted because I dared not even breathe even though my heart was pounding away. It felt as if my whole heart, mind and soul was concentrating on the interaction between the metal arm and the soft toy. One wrong move, or even if someone were to knock into the machine slightly, would have rendered the $2 coins that Kenneth put in, useless.

And this feeling of complete constipation ended when I almost fainted again, but this time with delight, as the toy successfully fell through the chute and landed at the area where we could lift up the plastic flap to collect it.

Just as I was recovering from the adrenaline, my emotions immediately swerved 180 degrees south.

Kenneth, smiling happily, had bent down to retrieve the soft toy, and passed it to a very surprised-looking Sophie.

"For me?" Sophie asked, with her eyes wide open.

Kenneth nodded. Sophie made no attempt to move at all, much less take the soft toy from him.

"Didn't you want it? I saw you staring at it." Kenneth said, while again pushing the soft toy towards her.

"No, it isn't me. Lenore was the one who was staring at it. I was just telling her how good Sean is at this."

"Oh." Kenneth said, realizing his mistake. He held the soft toy nearer to his body again. "My bad." He added, as he held the soft toy towards me.

I managed a feeble smile and accepted it. Whatever feeling of gratitude or happiness was non-existent now.

The three of us stood around each other feeling completely awkward. Usually, I would have bothered to try to fake a cheerful outlook to make things less embarrassing but I was not exactly in the mood right now.

"Guess what?" we heard Sean's voice. I turned around to look at him, partially envious of how fast it took guys to go to the loo whereas you had to double, triple or even multiply that timing by 4 when it comes to going to the ladies.

"Someone will unfortunately have to take two home tonight!" he said, while carrying the same huge Miffy I saw earlier.

My jaw dropped open. I turned quickly to look into the machine, confirming that the giant Miffy I saw inside earlier on was gone.

I looked at Sean again and blinked. Once. Twice. And then I closed the distance between us and threw an arm over him since the other was hugging the Miffy soft toy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" I exuberantly repeated myself.

"Um, welcome times four." He said. I could tell he was quite shocked by my reaction but I couldn't care.

"Isn't this amazing!? This guy is a genius!" I said to Sophie and Kenneth, and then turned around to look at Sean again. Was my eyes playing trick or was he blushing?

"Sean, you are a rare talent. I must definitely bring you to the arcade often!" I declared.

Back in Kenneth's car, the guys sat in front while I sat at the back with Sophie and 2 huge soft toys wedged between us.

I convinced her that she should take one of the Miffy toy home since Kenneth had her in mind when he tried the machine.

Sophie had vehemently protested at first, but finally relented when I told her that I was going to throw it away anyway when I get home since my grandparents would freak out over the addition of 2 huge toys in my very messy and cramped room.

Not exactly a great way to convince someone to take a huge soft toy home but, hey, anything that works is good, right?

Moreover, Kenneth would be delighted that Sophie had, in a way, accepted his gift.

I was right. When Sophie and Sean got off the car after reaching home, I could tell that Kenneth was happy (although he did not show it) to see that Sophie was hugging the toy as they walked back to their house.

I know it because he did not drive off immediately but continued to stare after them until the door had closed true and proper. I had to break him out of whatever trance he was in.

"Can we go off yet? Or would you prefer to wait for them to actually turn off the lights to go to bed before you would want to go home?" I asked, still sitting at the back.

"What's the rush? Can't wait to go home and put your new Miffy toy on your bed and then fall asleep happily with a smile?" He teased.

I rolled my eyes, knowing he was looking at me through the rear mirror.

"I saw that!" he said.

"I know!" I replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Could you drop me off here?" I asked Kenneth as we neared the guard post.

"Whatever for? It's close to 11pm already!" He asked.

"My dear, if you're concerned about my safety, this IS the guard post!" I said, getting my stuff and my new toy as I shifted myself nearer to the door.

The car slowed down to a stop as Kenneth braked gently. Thankfully he wasn't one of those reckless speed monster type.

I got out of the car. "I'd see you tomorrow." I said, before slamming the door shut and walking towards the guard post.

Before I reached, I turned around again. As I expected, the car was still there.

Sometimes, I swear that Kenneth was worse than my grandfather when it comes to issues of safety. Sure Moontown wasn't exactly safe as it has many 'migrant' type of settlers, but it also wasn't that dangerous either. Especially Dessling Street!

I stood there looking back at him with my hands on my hip to express my frustration. I bent down slightly to peer into the driver's side of the car and Kenneth rolled the windows down.

"Go home!" I insisted. I could see Kenneth frowning.

"Call me when you get home!" He said, and I nodded.

I then walked nearer to the post and peered through the door, looking for Mike.

He had mentioned that he will be on duty on Friday night. It was the best night to work, he had said, because there was no need to attend lessons the very next day.

I had promised to drop by and pay him a visit since he was being so nice as to guard the very street I was living in, despite the fact that he was financially compensated for this.

I was very sure that he was on duty because I heard his current favourite song playing on the radio. It was titled Fireflies, by Owl City. The starting part of the music was very tranquil, like water droplets landing on some kind of musical surface.

It was hard to describe, but it was because of this that I had a very deep impression of this song.

"Mike?" I said, as I stepped in.

"Whoa!" He said. He quickly lowered the volume.

"Is that for me?" he asked, pointing to Miffy.

"What?" I said, and pretended to look behind me. When I wanted to focus on him again, he was right in front of me.

"Never mind," he said as he quickly snatched Miffy away from me. "It's mine now anyway."

"Hey! Give it back!" I said, although I did not budge.

He stopped fooling around and looked at me. "You look tired." He commented.

"Well, considering that we woke up early for school today, and that I haven't had any nap at all. Yes. I am tired." I said, and plopped myself down on one of the comfortable looking sofa chairs.

"I hope there are no bedbugs here or anything." I said as I lay my head down on the arm rest.

He gave out a chuckle and I took that as a no.

I was awoken by the shrill ringing of my mobile phone.

I opened my eyes and realized that I was still at the guard post. Mike had pasted a post-it note right on my arm that read: Gone for patrol. Brb.

I smiled to myself. And then I suddenly recalled about my ringing phone.

"Hello?" I whispered, my voice sounding more hoarse than I thought it would.

"Aren't you home yet?" Kenneth's familiar voice said. He sounded like he was quite angry.

"I fell asleep." I explained and a yawn interrupted my sentence. "Alright, I'd be home within the next hour." I ended the phone call before he could say more.

This was one of the perfect naggy Kenneth example.

I wanted to hang around at least until Mike returned but when he wasn't back within 10 minutes, I picked up my bag and walked towards my house, hoping to see him on the way.

On the same post-it note that he left on my arm, I cancelled his previous message for me and wrote two simple words because my mind was too tired to make up a coherent sentence: Home. Sleep.

As I tiredly dragged my feet back, I heard Mike's voice behind me. I stopped and paused for awhile to maintain my balance, and then looked up at him.

The night was oddly bright. Maybe it was because of the full moon.

I felt like I was teleported to that very night when we stayed out at the playground till late.

"I still owe you a packet of chips." He said.

I smiled and waved my hand to signal that it wasn't important.

He stepped closer and closer, until it was too close for comfort.

Being taller than me, he leaned down so that he could reach my ear and he whispered "But isn't there something else you owe me as well?"

I smiled, knowing full well what he was referring to, but surely leaving me asleep on the sofa while he went off for night patrol was definitely not deserving of a kiss.

I decided that maybe I should reward him with a friendly hug instead and make him wait for the kiss, but just as my raised arms was around his neck, the door opened and the light from the house shone down on us like some sort of theatrical spotlight.

For a full second I thought that it was my grandparents and I really had a lot of explaining to do since Mike was in uniform and they would have thought that their grand daughter seduced the security guard. Or maybe vice versa.

It was a kind of odd relief that swept over me when my eyes finally adjusted to the lighting and I realized it was Kenneth.

He was, without a doubt, extremely shocked.

"Mike?" He recognized.

We were still frozen in the same position.

"Hi." Mike said meekly, obviously confused by the situation as well. I bet he must be thinking what the hell was Kenneth doing at my place. Well, that was a question I would like to ask him too.

"Um… Well, thank you for sending me home Mikey." I said. And then I hurriedly added a whisper "I'd call you."

I felt like a teenager (wait a minute, I still am!) whose parents just caught her kissing a boy in front of their house.

I could feel that my face was red. Maybe even my ears as well as I dragged my feet in and closed the door. But the door was stuck as I felt Mike put his feet there to stop me from closing completely.

I peered out the door at him in wonderment.

"Call me!" he mouthed while gesturing his right hand against his face like it's a phone.

I smiled and nodded before gently closing the door, though my blood pressure was rising as I was going to blow my top as soon as I turned around to look at Kenneth.

Regardless of whether Mike was still outside eavesdropping, I hissed, loud enough for someone standing outside the door to hear, but not loud enough to wake my sleeping grandparents.

"What the hell are you doing!"

Kenneth did not reply immediately. I felt like grabbing a nearby lamp and throwing at him if it would make him talk.

After a few dreadful seconds where I was really about to take my mobile and fling it at his head, the irritant finally answered me "I should be asking you the same question."

"I'm going out. Seeing the world. Meeting one of the Princes in my life. However you phrase it!" I said, still sore about the incident that morning where he very indirectly hinted at me to start dating.

"Well, I did say that. But I wasn't exactly referring to Mike." He said, oddly calm.

I was absolutely mad at this sentence.

"That's it." I said, raising my quivering voice. "If you think that as my best friend you can control my life, you are so wrong buddy!"

"You're trying to get me and Sean together so that you have more excuses for your pathetic dates with Sophie, right?"

After saying that sentence out, I regretted. Not because I had offended Kenneth, I insult him on a regular basis, but I was worried in case my grandparents would wake up from the commotion.

"You are like a sister to me, Lenore!" Kenneth said, and boy did that hurt. Like I don't already know? Did he just have to rub it in again?

"And seeing myself as your brother, I have the ability to tell you who is the better candidate that you should be going out with."

I retaliated. "Candidate? Since when your little sister's potential partners have to go through a job interview with you!"

I had had enough and decided to walk towards the staircase.

"If you like Sophie so much, tell her yourself. In fact, I will do it for you. Don't manipulate and use me on the pretext that I am your 'little sister'!" I turned around and wriggled my fingers at the word 'little sister' to emphasize my sarcasm at the term.

As I walked past him, suddenly, my right arm was grabbed and I was swung around so hard that the room blurred and I knocked into something.

It was a good thing that I hadn't punched myself with my own fist because I found myself tucked under his chin with my right fist that he grabbed, right in front of my nose.

So Kenneth wasn't so calm after all. My ear was against his pulse line at his neck and from the rate of his heart beat, I could tell that he was quite worked up as well.

To express that I am agreeable with this truce, I stayed cuddled by him for a few more minutes, though under ordinary circumstances as with our previous fights, I would have always stayed like that for a long time until Kenneth made the first move to break away.

But not this time.

"Ken," I began. "I'm tired. We'd talk tomorrow." I pulled away from him slowly.

I knew this thing about Mike would not end tonight anyway. We were bound to argue over Mike for as long as Kenneth is still eagerly pursuing Sophie. Sean's a great kid, but what do I know about him?

At least I know that Mike loves to sleep in class,

I leaped up a few steps at a time until I reached the 2nd storey, and closed up the rest of the distance until I reached my room. I was so eager to close the door to be alone that I almost slammed it shut.

Kenneth is not new to my place so there was no need to worry about how he was going to let himself out. Most of us do not lock our doors at all. In the history of Moontown, there was no burglary history along Dessling Street.

I did not want to switch on the lights in my room. It was naturally illuminated by the full moon that night. I walked towards my bed as I took off my top and put on a long night gown. My pants was quickly taken off and tossed over the hanger.

I sat down on my bed which was right beside the window and looked out. If Kenneth was walking home, I would definitely be able to view it from my window that overlooked his house right beside mine.

There was not a single figure in sight. Not even Mike whom I assume was still patrolling.

_Oh ya, Mike! _I thought.

I walked back to my pants to take out my mobile phone from the pocket.

In the dark, I pondered for a few seconds if I should give him a call or just drop him a text to say that I'm tired and we'd talk tomorrow.

"Tomorrow." I said to myself, and began to type out a text message instead.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Bright and early, but it was only Saturday.

Am I the only person in town to complain that the weekend was getting long and draggy?

I never saw Kenneth going home that night because I fell asleep soon after I sent the text message to Mike last night. Apparently, I was more tired than I thought.

Zon dropped by with a couple of bottles of what she calls 'Manuka Honey'.

I admitted to her about what happened the night before. Better me to let her know than to let Kenneth recount his version of the story.

"Hon, Kenneth seems to be in the wrong this time round." Zon said thoughtfully.

I nodded, and then realized what she said. "Wait. What do you mean by this time round!"

I was considerately ignored as Zon continued "I mean, this is your happiness at stake! Kenneth has no hand in this. How could he force you to go out with Sean instead, though the guy's cute."

"Something tells me I have to drop some sort of warning to Rick about his potential rival for attention." I said, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"I've given some very slight thought about it. Maybe I should go and tell Sophie. Since our Kenneth obviously has no guts to confess, I am so going to do it for him." I resolved.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Zon warned.

"Why not?"

"If it backfires, she's just going to ignore Kenneth and it's going to make their interaction really awkward."

I nodded slowly. Zon had a point there.

"But what if Sophie feels the same about Ken?" I asked. "There's always that very slight possibility right?"

"Very, very, slight. But if she likes him then all's well. But either way I still think that she should hear it from the horse's mouth, and not from people like us no matter how close we are to Ken." She insisted. "Besides, Ken isn't exactly someone whom a girl would consider as boyfriend material."

"Zon, not everyone has a boyfriend that fits Rick's standard, okay? Get a grip on reality. People like me are not going to have a partner who is anywhere as near as Rick."

I was mildly annoyed by Zon's smug face at my comment.

After a few more seconds of consideration, I added, "Anyway, if Kenneth was not my best friend for the last couple of years and just a random guy that likes me, I would seriously consider getting together with him."

This was as close to a confession as I could get. I had hoped that I hadn't sound out my real feelings with it. But Zon was not responding, meaning to say she hadn't latched onto the hint underneath my sentence; you know how dramatic she is. If she had heard and understood me, she would have started going on and on about it.

"Lenore?" She began.

"What?" I asked, probably sounding a little too rude than I should.

"Seriously, don't do anything stupid." She advised.

Now, I was sure the girl didn't hear my indirect confession. But that wasn't my utmost concern.

I didn't reply to her because I was having mixed emotions within me fighting some sort of warped battle.

First, the guy I like didn't like me.

Secondly, not only that, he insists that I stay away from my 2nd best alternative, Mike.

Thirdly, the solution that I came up with myself (which was to confess on his behalf to Sophie) was shot down by my best friend.

What was I supposed to do?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I hadn't slept well all night, especially since I had been waiting for this Monday morning to come ever since I made up my mind.

I borrowed grandpa's car, an antique and noisy Toyota that requires manual gear-shifting.

I loved the way the engines roared or purred when it kicks into the cruising gears. I also liked the way the car smelt. It was an overpowering smell, to be honest. It all began when Grandpa accidentally spilt the bottle of cologne that he always leaves in the car. I even remembered how that bottle of cologne looked like. It resembled a mini-version of some liquor bottle.

But the bottle is long gone now though the smell remains. I think it would stay in the car for as long as the car exists.

Ordinarily, I would have walked, but that day I wanted to get to school extra early, though I didn't think Sophie and Sean would reach so early either. At least I would have the car to wait in and not stand around in school like a total idiot who was too eager for school to start.

Lady Luck was on my side. Sophie was in school after all. But too bad for her, she was the one who looked like the idiot standing around with nothing to do.

My guess was that it had something to do with Sean having to come to school early. Their place was relatively further from school and as far as I know, they only had one vehicle shared between them.

Poor girl. I would have waited in the car if I were her.

I turned off the engine, hooked an arm around my sling bag and got out, quickly walking towards her to relieve her of the uneasiness of standing around alone.

"Hey!" I called out.

"Hey Lenore! You're early today!" She looked visibly relief as a smile spread over her face.

Did I just make her day? I know Kenneth or Zon did so, many times. I hated to stand around alone like this either.

"I have something really important to say to you." I said.

I looked around to make sure that there was no one else who would overhear our conversation.

But just in case, I lowered my voice.

"Sophie, can I…. can I ask whether…" I did not know of a more diplomatic way to put it so I stumbled and stopped.

I took a deep breath and my hand absent-mindedly went to scratch the back of my head. I shifted my weight from one feet to another and adjusted my sling back. Boy was this awkward. Kenneth is going to owe me so much if this works out. If.

"What?" She probed. "You look… disturbed! Everything okay?"

"Yea, I'm fine… Man, I just don't know how to put it!" I explained.

"You're not making a confession to me, are you?" She asked, with an eyebrow arched.

"Yes!" I exclaimed. The girl was smarter than I give her credit for.

She took a small step backwards. "I'm… honoured, Lenore. I really am. But I…" Her voice trailed off.

"But I haven't told you who is it yet!" I said. Apparently she did not understand me proper.

"Huh?" Now she was the one confused, as she should have been.

"It's Kenneth! Not me!" I finally got the misunderstanding sorted out.

Her mouth formed an 'o' but no sound came out.

When she finally spoke, she said, "That's… well…" Then came her nervous laughter. "Well I don't know what to make of it, Lenore. I mean… it's after all just the 2nd week of senior year and only our 2nd month in Moontown."

I take that as a neutral answer. At least she hasn't officially rejected him yet so Kenneth do stand a chance after all. "Sophie, take it as a compliment. I mean, he doesn't know that I'm telling you this but I just thought I should because he's been a real jerk about it."

"You mean forcing you to go out on double dates with me and Sean?" She asked.

"You could tell?" I was incredulous at her uncanny sense to figure things out so quickly.

"Well, I kinda got it all figured out once you placed the last piece of jigsaw together. I was wondering whether it was because Kenneth was trying to get you and Sean together. But now I know better." She smiled and said.

"Okay, so what do you think of Ken?" I asked, more straightforward now. Since the other party was not there, we could be abit more direct about it.

"I don't know him well." She insisted.

That was true, and there was no way I was going to be able to force an answer out of her at that moment in time. Patience was key. At least I know that she would try to get to know him better now that the fact was made known.

"That can be arranged." I said with a wicked glint in my eye. She threw her head back and laughed, and then punched my shoulder gently.

The topic evolved and we moved on to other more mundane things that was school-related. The crowd started streaming in and I was pointing out to her who so-and-so was, the key figures within the school, the newcomers whom I do not recognize and even which teachers to be careful of.

"I'm going for gym class first." I said. "I'd see you around." I said as I picked up my bag and sling it over my shoulder.

"Yea, I need to go too. See you around."

As I turned and walked towards the direction of the gym, I saw two figures staring at me with disapproving looks on their faces.

One was Zon, who was shaking her head slightly. And the other was a very angry-looking Kenneth.

He refused to speak to me throughout the day. In fact, Zon was seated between me and him whereas for the lessons where Mike was present, I would choose to sit beside him, making the poor fella unable to sleep as he usually does in class.

It's not that I do not allow him to doze off; as he claimed, he is unable to fall asleep when I'm sitting beside him. I didn't know if that was meant to be a sweet remark or another way of asking me not to sit beside him.

But judging by the amount of laughter and how he often initiates little chit chat sessions during class, I'm assuming that it was a flattering remark.

But no matter how adorable Mike was acting around me all the time, I couldn't take my mind off Kenneth. Unaccustomed to being ignored for more than 4 hours, I had to run after him as he dashed out of the classroom once the bell rang.

"Ken!" I shouted out, but that only made him quicken his pace.

"Lenore, forget it. He's pissed." I heard Zon call out behind me, I turned to look back and saw her eyes filled with pity and spite, both at the same time.

I did not quite understand why, but she soon voiced her opinion "You knew it was going to mightily piss him off, why did you still have to do it? I warned you against it!"

"All you see is him being the victim. What about me? What about how I feel?" I had to control myself with every bit of dignity I heard in order to not shout or break down. At least not in school.

And then I continued running after Kenneth.

To be honest, that was the only thing I had in mind. Even if I were to really catch up with him, I didn't know what I would have said to him. Maybe that was why I never caught up with him at all.

I guess I just wanted to see his face. To witness for myself his frustration over such a small issue. Especially if you take how many years of our friendship compared to that few short (less than a month?) time period that he like Sophie.

Was it worth getting angry over?

He must really like the girl, which further makes it more right for me to help him confess his feelings to her.

Past the gates, I could tell that he slowed down his steps, so I seized the opportunity to get closer.

My mistake? I called out to him.

He instantly stiffened as he heard me and realized I was not giving up yet, so he crossed the road instead of walking towards the carpark to his own vehicle. He probably knows that if he tries to get into his car, I would have stood right in front of it and he would have to knock me down.

We joked about this before; that if ever one of us was mightily pissed off, what would we do to get each other off our backs.

Obviously, he remembered about it. But there was nothing funny about it now.

I instantaneously stepped onto the road as well, but someone grabbed my right hand and swung me around very violently just as a huge red object brushed past me, with its horn blasting.

It was so close that my left hand actually slapped the vehicle by accident, and boy did it hurt. I was sure something broke.

I thought that was the worst that could happen to me, but I was wrong.

The next thing I know, or didn't know, rather, was that I was thrown into pitch darkness.


End file.
